The Classes Over the Masses

There was a small story, five paragraphs long, in yesterday’s Sun-Times: “Sox to build new outdoor bar at ballpark.” The times we live in. Too bad the story didn’t mention who’s going to pick up the estimated $284,500 tab because it’s doubtful the Sox will. They’re mere renters. Landlords do that sort of stuff in the everyday world, and I’m betting the public stadium authority will be doing the same here. But, unlike the real world, I wouldn’t expect any rent increases. Why, the team might move. What the story did note was the removal of eight rows of seats. The Sox, like most every other team in baseball, doesn’t much care about how many fans come into their park, as long as they’re the right kind, demographically speaking. The deeper pockets, the better. Comiskey Park could hold as many as 52,000 fans; Guaranteed Rate Whatever comes in at 40,615, minus however many seats those lost eight rows will come out to. Ticket prices rise while ballpark capacities shrink. Not how I’d run a team, but nobody’s asking.